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1984 Canton riots
The 1984 Canton riots occurred in the summer of 1984 when violence erupted between the Ku Klux Klan and anti-racist protesters, each of whom had been holding demonstrations against and in favor of Carl Lee Hailey being acquitted of murder. The riots subsided when the National Guard was sent in to keep the peace between the two rival demonstrating groups, and the Klan left the town after Hailey was acquitted. Background The cause of the riots was the murder trial of Carl Lee Hailey, an African-American Vietnam War veteran and construction worker who killed the white supremacists Billy Ray Cobb and Pete Willard at the Madison County courthouse to avenge his daughter Tonya's abduction, beating, rape, and attempted lynching at their hands. Hailey was defended by the attorney Jake Brigance, whose legal team included veteran civil rights lawyer Lucien Wilbanks, pro bono law clerk Ellen Roark, and divorce lawyer Harry Rex Vonner. They entered Hailey into a "not guilty be reason of insanity" plea, and they faced overwhelming odds: the ambitious district attorney Rufus Buckley sought the death penalty for Hailey, and he influenced Judge Omar Noose into rejecting a change of venue and bond for Hailey. Madison County, which was only around 20% black, would be likely to select an all-white jury, all but condemning Hailey to death in the gas chamber if he lost. At the same time as the court case, the brother of Billy Ray Cobb, Freddie Lee Cobb, was put into contact with the Ku Klux Klan by his friend Winston Thompson, and Grand Dragon Stump Sisson gave his blessing for Cobb to create the Madison County Klavern with at least six friends. Cobb succeeded in creating a klavern, and the Klan agreed to send several of its members down to Canton to influence the populace's support for Hailey. The Klan attempted to bomb Brigance's home, forcing his family to leave town as he remained behind to defend Hailey. They also planted burning crosses on the lawns of potential jurors, kidnapped and assaulted Roark, and attacked the home of Brigance's secretary Ethel Twitty, leading to her husband Bud dying of a heart attack. The Klan was not the only protest group to arrive in the town. The NAACP sought to intervene in the case, with Reverend Isaiah Street bringing several NAACP representatives to Reverend Ollie Agee, persuading him to raise funds to hire a new lawyer for Hailey. They found Norman Reinfield, known for his involvement in capital murder cases, and they raised $5,000 from congregants to cover Reinfield's $7,000 fee. However, Hailey insisted that Brigance continue to represent him after discovering that Agee had used money that was supposed to cover Hailey's family's needs for Reinfield's legal fees instead. Hailey threatened to expose Agee unless he sent the money to his family, and he continued to employ Brigance, rejecting the NAACP's intervention. Riots Anti-racist protests The arrival of NAACP representatives in town led to the area's black and multiracial residents and pro-Carl Lee whites assembling in front of the courthouse to agitate in favor of Hailey. In a fashion similar to that of the Freedom Riders, several anti-racist protesters were bused into town, including by the Southern Christian Youth Services. The anti-racists outnumbered the racist whites, and they were spurred on by the local black reverends and the NAACP. Arrival of the Klan On the day that Hailey's trial began, the Klan marched into Canton, with the red-robed Grand Dragon Stump Sisson leading the procession. He carried with him a bullhorn, announcing that white people were sick and tired of blacks "stealing, raping, killing, and getting away with it." He also demanded "justice", that Hailey be convicted, and that "his black ass be sent to the gas chamber." The arrival of the Klan alerted the people in the courtroom, and the local sheriffs rushed out of the courtroom to come between the anti-racists and the Klansmen as the Klansmen marched towards the anti-racists to confront them. Outbreak of violence When the Klansmen came face-to-face with the police and the counter-protesters, black woman Priscilla Dodson called Sisson a "pointy-headed, white-faced, no-good, wife-beating son of a whore," and Sisson responded by calling her a wild animal. She then said that he was the animal, and she proceeded to punch him in the face. The two crowds of protesters then proceeded to clash in a melee brawl, with the police being caught between the two sides. As Sisson was being beaten by a crowd of black youths, a black youth on a rooftop, Jamyron Joyner, prepared to throw a Molotov cocktail at him, leading to the youths on the ground fleeing. As Sisson taunted the fleeing youths, Joyner threw the Molotov at him, engulfing him in flames and killing him. The violence became worse, with Sheriff Ozzie Walls being beaten by Klansmen as his racist deputy Willie Hastings fled the brawl to avoid having to harm his fellow Klansmen. In addition, Brigance got involved in the fight by punching a Klansman, only to be slashed across the leg by a Klansman. National Guard intervention The violence mostly subsided after the National Guard was called in, but, after Wilbert Rodeheaver's testimony, Cobb took up a position on a nearby rooftop with a sniper rifle and planned to kill Brigance. He accidentally shot a National Guardsman in the neck, leaving the guard paralyzed. Cobb managed to escape, and the Klan struck back when Deputy Hastings pulled over Ellen Roark for "drunk driving" and handed her over to the Klan for assaulting. End of the riots The trial concluded with a verdict of "not guilty", with Hailey being acquitted of murder. The anti-racist protesters celebrated the news, while the Klansmen began to shout in anger against the verdict. Sheriff Walls proceeded to arrest Cobb, Thompson, and Deputy Hastings for their involvement in the Klan's terrorism, and both the anti-racists and the Klansmen left Canton due to the trial's conclusion. Category:Riots